stricker518

"http://thehockeywriters.com/author/gstricker/"

Philadelphia , PA • United States • 27 Years Old • Male

BREAK HURTS FLYERS, LOOK TO BOUNCE BACK IN THE DESERT

Another break in the schedule proves to be a costly one for the Flyers when they have gotten on a roll a few times this season. Entering the Christmas break having won three straight and enjoying a 6-1-3 stretch where they gained points in 9 of 10 games all came to a screeching halt in Nashville on Saturday night. Lavy's first game against his former team showed Flyers management and fans how good his team can be with an elite goalie and number one defenseman. Pekka Rinne was a thorn in the Flyers side all night as they could just not solve him. It took an unstoppable shot from Claude Giroux just to get the Flyers on the board Saturday night. Now as they look to get their legs back under them after a relaxing break they will go into Glendale, Arizona and face a lowly Coyotes team that ranks 2nd to last in the Western Conference. Hopefully it will be just what the doctor ordered and the Flyers can take advantage of a bad Arizona squad that are having trouble scoring as of late. One of the positives however from Saturday nights game was the play of the so called 4th line (Vendevelde, Bellemare, Lecavalier) they have been arguably the best Flyers line since being put together 4 games ago. Game Notes: Flyers start time for tonight is a dreaded 9pm puck drop. From the looks of the beat writers who were at the morning skate Steve Mason will be making his return after hurting his back just 10 days ago (woo!). From what he described as the worst pain of his life its pretty amazing to see him back and ready to go in such a short time. We just hold our collective breaths and hope he's not rushing back to early. As for the lineup it will be exactly the same as its been the last handful of games. There was a scare in practice yesterday when Bellemare went off the ice holding his left arm but he said he's fine and will play tonight. Thank god because the last thing we want to see is Rinaldo reinserted back onto the 4th line because of an injury, especially with how well they've been playing of late. Now we wait what will feel like centuries till 9pm for puck drop. Lets go Flyers. For more information regarding the Philadelphia Flyers go to http://broadstreetsports.weebly.com/flyers-247 Also follow us on Twitter @Broad_StSports and like us on FB https://www.facebook.com/broadstreetsports215